The WORD

Scripture: John 1:1-5 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. 4 In him was life,, and that life was the light of men. 5 That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it.

Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Jn 1:1–5.

Introduction

When this book was written John was writing to the Gentiles to explain everything that he had seen. Gentiles have never heard of the term Messiah and didn’t know what it means to be a Messiah. So John had to use language that the audience would understand and know, and so John begins his letter this way.

John also wanted to communicate to the Greeks a really brief history of the earth which is why John 1:1, with words reminiscent of Genesis 1:1, says, “In the beginning was the Word.”

I. God had a word for us.

A. This Word of God is communicative.

When the writer of the fourth gospel wanted to tell us of God’s Word to us, he chose a concept that would communicate to all people who would receive this gospel. The concept was “Word.” To Jews, Greeks, Christians, and the world at large, this was a concept that would communicate what God had done in Christ Jesus.

1. Power. To the Jews the Word of God meant power.

God spoke a word and the world came into being (Gen. 1). The Word of God could burn like fire or shatter like a hammer (Jer. 23:29). The Word of God could accomplish the divine purpose (Isa. 55:11). The Hebrews who would read this gospel would immediately understand the power of God when they understood that the Word was in the beginning with God and was God.

2. Principle.

But to the Greek reader “the Word” would mean a rational principle. It had to do more with philosophical thought than personal power. The Jewish apologist Philo had adopted this Greek philosophical concept to refer to the projected thought of the transcendent God, the clue to the meaning and purpose of life.

3. Proclamation.

The early Christian church viewed the preaching of the gospel as a “ministry of the word” (Acts 6:4). The entire event of Christ’s life was a divine declaration, a redemptive proclamation. We are told in Revelation, “His name is the Word of God” (Rev. 19:13 NIV). In preaching the Word, the early Christians were proclaiming the redemptive message of Jesus Christ.

4. Person.

The unique conviction of the prologue to John’s gospel is that the Word of God is a person. The Word is not Jesus’ power or principle or proclamation but his person. When truth becomes personal, it becomes meaningful to us.

God had a word for us, a word that communicates to us in a personal way that we can be made right with God.

B. The Word of God is comprehensive.

1. The Word relates to God.

The Word is not just identified with God; he is identical with God. When you want to see God and know what God is like, you look to Jesus Christ. He is related to God in being. He gives us an accurate communication of God.

2. The Word relates to the world.

The Word of God relates to the world in that God was the agent of creation. He is revealed and known by his creative activity. John and Paul both wanted to make sure that we understood that creation was as much the work of Christ as was redemption. God relates to the world in creativity.

3. The Word relates to humankind.

But the comprehensive Word that God spoke also relates to all of humankind. It is expressed in two terms: life and light. These translate to redemption. Jesus Christ is related to humankind redemptively.

So the reason for God’s affirmative action program is that God had a Word for us, a Word that was both communicative and comprehensive. By this Word, God spoke the last Word to us. Listen to the opening words of the book of Hebrews: “In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets; but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world” (Heb. 1:1–2 RSV).

II. God had a witness to us.

If the Word God has spoken to us shows us that Christ, the Word, is, it also shows us what Christ does. Through this Word that had become flesh, God gave a witness to himself in this world. Christ came into the world to reveal God and to redeem persons. That witness is expressed in two keywords in John’s gospel: life and light.

A. Life.

In Christ there is life. One thing Jesus did was to impart life to persons who lived with no hope of eternal life.

For all the hopeless, helpless, wondering, wandering people in the world, Jesus gives the promise that there is life—life with worth and meaning.

In the Word, God has a witness to us that there is life.

B. Light.

This life is also described as light. Christ brings light into the world—light about our darkened ideas about sin, self, and salvation. The light of God’s love shines about us in Jesus Christ. Twice in John’s gospel, Jesus made the claim for himself, “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12; 9:5).

Notice something about this light: the darkness cannot put it out. The light of God’s grace shines with such power that the depths of darkness cannot put it out. In fact, darkness cannot even dim it. God’s light in Jesus Christ is brighter than all the accumulated darkness of the world’s sin.

God’s witness to us is that the Word has become flesh and lived among us. This gives witness to both what we can know about God and what we can experience with God—life and light.

Conclusion

When you have something to say, you use a word to express it. God expressed his love for us, his life in us, and his light to us in a Word—Jesus Christ. That Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Through it we see God and respond to his love in faith.